CCIU aims to hold line for 2013-14 budget

DOWNINGTOWN – For the second year in a row, the Chester County Intermediate Unit is proposing a 0 percent increase in its budget.

According to Mary Curley, the CCIU’s communications director, the 2013-14 budget will still ensure that students in the county will have continued access to a wide range of high-quality educational services.

For the second year in a row, the county’s 12 school districts will see the price tag remain the same for the 83 marketplace programs and services offered by the intermediate unit, ranging from hearing-impaired support and preschool special education to driver education and mental health partial hospitalization programs.

Last year, 19,359 students from throughout the commonwealth participated in CCIU school-based, itinerant, online or enrichment programs. The intermediate unit also operates five schools: the Child and Career Development Center, the Learning Center, and the Technical College High School’s Brandywine, Pennock’s Bridge and Pickering campuses.

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“Our mission is to provide quality, innovative and cost-effective services to the students of Chester County,” said Joseph O’Brien, the intermediate unit’s executive director. “The strategies we have taken to address budget challenges in the current economic climate have enabled us to fulfill our mission by keeping costs affordable to the school districts, ultimately benefitting the students of Chester County.”

One of those strategies was a salary freeze for teachers, and professional and administrative employees, for the previous fiscal year, which saved the intermediate unit $2,606,507.

For the budget, the intermediate unit is also proposing staff reductions of 20 full-time positions.

“CCIU is extremely grateful to all of our employees, both for the quality of service they provide every day and for rising to the challenge last year and agreeing to take a zero percent salary increase,” O’Brien said. “Because of their efforts and their dedication to education, we are able to maintain a zero percent increase for our services to the school districts. In all honesty, this could not have been possible without the support of our teachers and our project, support and administrative staff.”

Alternative revenue sources also offset costs to member school districts, including services provided to out-of-county students, which generated about $5.7 million for the intermediate unit, and grants like the Math and Science Partnership Grant for almost $1.5 million. Categorical services to establishments such as non-public school services, IDEA, and the Glen Mills School, brought the intermediate unit $29,196,703 in revenue, with Medicaid-funded support for special education services generating another $7.6 million.

In addition, overhead costs were significantly reduced through successful energy management programs. Since 2007, the energy conservation efforts of employees and students helped avoid $957,725.87 in electricity costs.

Another way the intermediate unit has kept costs down is through resource sharing with districts. This includes not only providing administrative staff and conducting district superintendent searches at no cost to member districts, but also facilitating a custodial outsourcing partnership with ServiceMaster.

Combining the buying power of the 12 school districts and the intermediate unit, the Chester County School Districts’ Joint Purchasing Board annually saves taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. It takes advantage of lower prices and reduced advertising costs when bulk purchasing items from textbooks to technology equipment. Over the past four years, savings have averaged more than half a million dollars, or about 10 percent savings over what schools districts would have paid if bidding was done on an individual basis.

“Achieved through a combination of strategies, this zero percent increase in costs alleviates the burden on school districts of having to choose which services to provide which students,” O’Brien said.

The CCIU will also be consolidating certain programs in an effort to bridge the deficit gap. Some of the consolidations will include the Teaching & Learning Division with the Educational, Research, and Development Services Division; and Chester County Middle College High School with Choices and Gateways programs.

The annual budget must be approved by a majority of the school boards in Chester County and will take effect June 30.

The intermediate unit provides services to the 12 school districts in the county, including almost 86,000 public and non-public school students and more than 6,000 educators. The unit’s major services include special education and compensatory education programs; career, technical and customized education; mentor training and staff development; technology initiatives; consortia for school business operations; and curriculum services. The Chester County Intermediate Unit is one of 29 regional educational agencies established by law in Pennsylvania in 1971.